


elysium

by luna beatrice (legendarytozier)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Dark Magic, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Gryffindor, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, Parseltongue, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:08:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26598085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendarytozier/pseuds/luna%20beatrice
Summary: "𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚."They are both crumbling. Perhaps they'll save each other on the way down. Perhaps not."𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤. 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤."
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), George Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. prologue

_June 5, 1980_

“It’s a boy!” The woman cried, leaning over to look directly into the mother’s eyes. She could swear she saw a flash of panic flicker through her features, but it was immediately gone and replaced with elation and exhaustion. The nurse scooped the baby up, taking him away to clean and swaddle ever so carefully. She eyed the tall blonde man hovering by the door, never coming too close to the nurse or the mother. He remained impassive, and he radiated a dark and cold energy that set the younger woman on edge. She kept quiet as she did her work, carefully checking the health of the baby. It hadn’t cried once, not a single peep, but this wasn’t entirely unheard of. Just rare. 

“Here you are. He’s beautiful and healthy. Have you decided on a name?” The nurse asked, handing the little bundle over to the dark-haired woman. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a blood curdling scream from outside the room. Everyone whipped their head around to the door, and the nurse took off in a sprint. She turned down the hall to the room at the end, and busted in, not once considering she shouldn’t enter. 

The scene before her was gruesome. Blood covered the bed and floor, and a doctor was huddled around a table in the back. He was working tirelessly over something, but it wasn’t what the nurse was drawn to. Sprawled out across the bed, drained of colour, was a woman who couldn’t be much older than 20. Her eyes were forced open in a blank stare, devoid of any and all emotion. The nurse quickly ran over, grabbing her wrists and checking for a pulse. When she felt nothing, she cried out for help. The doctor turned around, having finally noticed another presence in the room.

“She’s gone,” he said blankly, and the nurse noticed he was holding a small bundle in his hands. “Died in childbirth. She just… lost it, screaming and bleeding out, begging me to help the baby first. Cord was wrapped tightly around its neck, but she’s stable,” the doctor said, staring longingly down at the small child in his arms. The nurse stood numbly, unsure of what to do. The doctor didn’t seem to care at all, just cooing gently to the little girl, and it made the nurse uneasy.

“Does she have any family?” The nurse asked, eyeing the baby nervously.

“Not that I’m aware of. They’ll have to do a check through the mother’s history. No father listed either,” he said stoically. 

“Did… did the mother tell you her name?”

The doctor sighed, never once taking his eyes of the baby. “Yes. Juniper. Juniper Persephone.”  
_____________________

The nurse made her way carefully back to the original room she came from, carefully wiping the blood from her hands so as not to frighten the couple. She pushed through the door left ajar, and plastered a smile on her face.

“So sorry about all of that. Seems there was an accident in another room. Nothing to be worried about of course.” The nurse spoke calmly, continuing her procedure with the family. The woman looked worried, but the man remained indifferent, merely eyeing his watch and leaning onto a dark wooden cane. She grabbed her file of information and continued on, “I believe you were about to tell me the little one’s name.”

The woman cleared her throat, and without lifting her eyes, spoke his name aloud for the first time.

“Draco Lucius Malfoy.”


	2. I

“Would you hurry up? I really have not got all day, June.” Hermione cried from the common room, hoping that her friend could hear all the way up in the dorms. Juniper could hear her, no problem, but she wasn’t all that interested in moving any faster. First days were boring, and they didn’t lead to many exciting revelries. This being Juniper and her friend’s 6th year as Hogwarts attendees, she’d done this many a time. And it hadn’t gotten more fun with age.

“It’s dinner, Hermione, not the end of the world. We don’t have to be on time,” she called back, but slipped her shoes on anyways.

“Actually, we do. It’s important to leave a good first impression on day one. You should know this.”

Juniper sighed. “Well if we’re being honest with ourselves, this is the sixth impression we’ve made. If they don’t like you by now, they aren’t going to like you at all,” she said more softly, descending the staircase to face Hermione. “And trust me, they do not like you right now.” Juniper brushed past Hermione, listening to her scoff and follow closely behind.

With this being Harry Potter’s return after the battle in the Ministry of Magic and facing off against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named once again, Juniper knew she should be softer with Hermione. The girl was strong, and intelligent, but she tended to get a tad bit weepy over her friends. And with Harry being one of these said friends, she knew Hermione was going to be a little on edge. Harry was not exactly well liked among his peers, and the last 2 years hadn’t done much to dissipate that. While Gryffindor cried for their hero, their Chosen One, other Houses didn’t much care for the theatrics. It was all a bit much.

Even Juniper had to admit she wasn’t a fan. Harry was nice enough, and a talented wizard, but with all the fame and admiration he received, he could get a bit… stubborn. 

Juniper walked with purpose to the Great Hall, keeping her chin lifted and shoulders pressed back. While this was her sixth year and nothing to panic about, she did want her teachers to continue to admire her. Juniper was easily the top of the class, in every class, and she wasn’t obnoxious about it like Hermione or boring with it like Neville Longbottom. She took extra care to be the best her teachers had ever seen, but not flaunt it or abuse it. She wanted people to like her. She needed people to like her.

Pushing open the heavy oak doors, Juniper noted that the Hall was barely half filled. She rolled her eyes at Hermione’s panic, seeing that it had all been for nothing. “Look, Hermione, we’re going to be just fine. We’ve got plenty of time,” she stated, and Hermione merely huffed again. They walked to their place at the Gryffindor table, and Neville scooted closer. Juniper smiled softly at him, noticing a creeping vine over his hand and arm. “Hey Neville. What’cha got there?”

Neville beamed at her, happy to discuss anything Herbology related. “It’s a blue passionflower vine. They’re temperamental little things, but I believe with the right amount of care and attention, they can be a real asset to the medical field. The fruit they produce is highly effective in the curing of burns and skin rashes, but they’re such grumpy plants that people rarely utilize them. I’m going to raise this one and see if I can present to the St. Mungo’s regarding the use,” Neville said, before continuing on about the great lengths he would need to go to make this plant happy. Juniper tuned him out, nodding every now and then. It was the easiest thing to do to keep Neville happy; ask about a plant and then zone out, and he would happily ramble on about it without really noticing you’re not listening. Juniper did it often, and it kept her in Neville’s good books without having to actually get a second Herbology lesson after the already draining class. 

“That’s fascinating Neville. I think that’s a really good idea. Best of luck taking care of it,” Hermione said, smiling at him. Hermione was always interested in what Neville had to say, but probably because she hoped it would be useful knowledge one day. She was probably right, but it was eye roll inducing to listen to sometimes.

Just then Ron bust into the Great Hall, his two older twin brothers trailing behind. They were laughing about something as they stopped closer to the end, while Ron kept walking towards the group. Hermione immediately sat up straighter, and Neville and Juniper shared a look. It seemed as though the only person who couldn’t see how in love with Ron Hermione is was… Ron himself.

“Hey guys. You seen Harry? I did a lap of the common room and staircases and I couldn’t see him anywhere.” Hermione looked around the room, but never spotted him. Ginny Weasley slipped a little closer as well, hearing the mention of Harry’s name.

“Nope. Figured he was off with you”. Juniper flicked a piece of white blonde hair over her shoulder, not really caring where Harry was at. She knew a small amount of concern was warranted given what had happened at the Ministry, but Harry always seemed to find a way out of every sticky situation he found himself in.

“No, he told us he was going to get some air on the train, and we haven’t spotted him since. He could just be-,” just as Ron was about to finish his sentence, the doors opened once again, and in strolled the man in question; Harry Potter.

“Is that blood? Why is he always covered in blood,” Ginny whispered softly, but Juniper didn’t have an answer for her. It was very true. Harry was always covered in blood, finding himself in situations warranting a battle of sorts more often than once.

“Looks like it’s his own this time,” Ron mumbled, just as Harry approached the table.

“What happened to you?” Hermione asked, peaking at Harry’s bloody nose around the cloth he was holding to it. He shook his head, keeping it down and covered for the most part. Juniper resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Why couldn’t the man just stay safe for 10 minutes?

“Nothing. Bumped it on the train,” he said nonchalantly, obviously not wishing to continue the conversation. Juniper looked up as more students flooded into the Hall and caught the eye of a particular wizard.

Draco Malfoy.

He smirked at their table, giving his usual withering glare, but it didn’t have the same effect as it used to in previous years. Although he looked handsome, the green complimenting his pale skin and hair, he appeared thinner than last year, somehow sicker. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the glow and arrogance he usually carried around himself seemed dulled somehow. The two locked eyes and for a moment, Juniper felt as though the whole room went quiet, and she was somehow the only person in the room with Draco. He quickly looked away, but she gazed longingly at the table as he sat down. Not because of him, or because of anyone else there, but because of the title. Slytherin. Juniper loved Gryffindor, and felt that her bravery outmatched anyone there, and knew that she was a gem in their collection.

But a small part of her wondered; is this really where I’m meant to be?  
_____________________

As Juniper waited wordlessly through the Sorting ceremony, clapping when necessary, she let her mind wander. Her schedule this year was full, but not too challenging. The same old things filled her days: Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration. It didn’t shock her, but it did bore her a bit. These things came easily to her, she only wished to be a bit more challenged in her academia. 

“June! Are you coming to the tryouts tomorrow? I can’t imagine you won’t make the team again, but…” Ginny trailed off, not wanting to say that anyone gets a free pass. Juniper nodded wordlessly, acknowledging what she meant. She didn’t feel the need to get any special treatment when it came to the Quidditch pitch, she knew she was plenty talented enough to make the team. She had won an award just last year for being the most valuable player on the team, carrying them to victory. Juniper had no issues trying out again; it was merely an opportunity to show off her skills.

“Of course I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it. Hey, does anyone else have Defense Against the Dark Arts first thing? Feels like an awful time for such an intense class,” Juniper asked, clapping politely when a first year was placed in Ravenclaw.

Everyone around her checked their schedules and shook their head. It appeared that she would not be accompanied by a single friend to that class, which likely meant she had other classes without them as well.

“Sorry Juniper, you’re on your own for that one. And apparently-“ Ron said, leaning over to look at her parchment, “you’re on your own for everything else too.”

Juniper eyed her friends, and they all looked at her with sympathy. What convenience. Probably meant she’d do even better in class with them there to distract her in some way, but it wasn’t ideal. Class always went by more smoothly with friends. “Well, I’ll probably do better without you lot in there,” she said coolly, not wanting anyone to think she was upset.  
“Yeah, your grades really do be needing the boost, don’t they, Junie,” Harry said, giving her a look that oozed sarcasm. She smiled. It felt good to be recognized. 

As the last child was sorted into their house, Dumbledore announced the feast was to begin, and everyone dug in. Juniper tried to dig into her meal, as it looked and smelled delicious, but she just couldn’t bring herself to feel good. Something rested low in her belly, a little bundle of something that was making her feel off. She felt a strange tingle crawl up her neck, and it made her cower and twist. It felt cold, like the breath of a ghost. A sweat broke out over her skin, and the room seemed to darken without anyone else noticing. It wasn’t until Juniper heard a voice so close to her ear that she shot up, standing over the table and frightening her friends. They looked at her strangely, and the feeling immediately passed, the lights returning to normal. 

“What the hell, June. Are you okay?” Harry asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Ron cleared his throat and glanced around Juniper to something behind her.  
“Seems she’s not the only one spooked,” he said cautiously, and the entire group turned to see Malfoy also standing above his table, breathing heavily while his group stared at my nervously. He looked up and met Juniper’s eyes, and she made quick work of turning away. 

“I have to go. I’ll see you all later,” she said, grabbing her parchment and walking briskly from the Great Hall. The feeling had been much too ominous for her to express any semblance of sanity before her friends, and the voice had spooked her so severely she was struggling not to glance over her shoulder repeatedly. 

For the voice had sounded like it was speaking Parseltongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey babes! just transferring over a story I currently have on another site <3 come chat w me!


	3. II

Juniper ran quickly to the Gryffindor common room, avoiding eye contact with everyone along the way. She kept her head down and focused solely on not passing out on the way there. Her skin itched and burned, and the cold sweat hadn’t left her skin. She felt as though there were a million eyes watching her, even though no one was around. It was unnerving, and it was all she could do not to scream into the empty hallways with crippling panic.

As soon as she reached the common room, shouting the password as quickly as possible and spooking multiple nearby portraits, Juniper stumbled up the steps to her room. She made quick work of pulling her robes and sweater off, feeling like everything was suffocating her. She flung open the bathroom door and almost wretched at the sight before her. Her skin looked waxy, shiny from the sweat, and her hair was a bit ruffled from walking so fast. But her eyes were so…empty. An iris that was normally full of molten honey and sunlight and dulled to an almost indiscernible black, blending in with her pupil. She panicked at the sight and stumbled backwards against the wall. What the hell was that? She was horrified by the sight, but she couldn’t stop staring. It was frightening and strange and incredibly foreign, but at the same time, it was mesmerizing to see the darkness in her own features.

As she stepped closer to the mirror, the whispering began to pick up again, and the only reason Juniper could tell it was in her head was the lack of any other living thing in the room. She tried desperately to listen, never once taking her eyes off herself, but the words were mumbled, overlapping one another so as to confuse her. Her neck began to itch again, and this time it was more intense than in the Great Hall. It reached a subtle burn, driving Juniper to grapple at the back of her neck and try to scratch away the pain. She paused when she felt small bumps under her fingertips, and she rushed to grab a small handheld mirror off the counter to see what was back there. 

She pulled her long hair over her shoulder and almost threw up again. A long thin black line had appeared slightly raised from her skin, no other markings anywhere near it. Juniper wiped furiously at the line, trying to rub it away, but it was evidently part of her skin. She gasped softly and felt panic creep through her veins.

“What the fuck is that? Oh god, oh god, oh god…” she muttered, unsure of what to do. The voices around her were becoming more erratic, and it was at this moment that Juniper knew she was hearing Parseltongue. While it was evidently a language she had never heard before, she knew it immediately and understood it, like she had been speaking it her whole life. A dark feeling settled in Juniper’s stomach, and she immediately considered just laying down on the cold tile floor.

A knock on the door spooked her out of her daze, and she forced her hand down and hair back over her neck. A voice spoke out to her. “Juniper? Are you okay? You left really fast,” Hermione’s clear voice rang through the door, and Juniper blew out a breath. 

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine. Just felt nauseous. I’m okay now,” Juniper called back, hoping that would be enough to persuade her to back off. Thankfully, it was.

“Okay. Well, we’re going to gather in the common room. Fred and George smuggled in some pints so we’re going to celebrate the start of their last year. If you want to join… but don’t feel pressured if you just want some sleep. I promise we’ll be quiet when we come back into the room.”

Juniper smiled at Hermione’s kindness in offering her an invitation but respecting her possibly wanting to stay away. “Thanks Hermione. I’ll come down when this… passes,” she responded, and this seemed to satisfy Hermione as she walked away from the bathroom door. When Juniper looked back to see her face, she was both shocked and relieved to see her eyes had returned back to normal. Examining herself closely, she made absolute sure the golden hazel had returned, and she no longer heard whispering behind her. Checking once more, however, proved that the mark on her neck remained. She had no idea what it was or how it got there, but it was evident that it was not going anywhere. 

A loud crash rang from outside the bathroom, and she immediately remembered she wasn’t alone. Juniper weighed the pros and cons of telling her friends below. Pros: they could help her find information regarding this, what it was, how to get rid of it. Cons: they could panic and somehow get her sent away, or they could shun her for her confirmation of Parseltongue being the language spoken. It was difficult to flip back and forth. She knew she should trust her friends and rely on them because they were her family, but something nagging told her to wait. Why was it that she was feeling so bloody off today? It was the first god damn day back at Hogwarts, for Merlin’s sake. Juniper decided then and there to keep it to herself, and to not bring her friends into it, not yet. She needed to figure this one out on her own first.

Her best bet to not give anyone the idea that she was not okay was to join them in the common room below. As much as she wanted to just crawl into bed and not rise until it was absolutely necessary, she knew that her friends would ask even more questions should she hide from them. 

Making her way slowly down the steps, Juniper took a deep breath before turning the corner to face the ruckus below. Red streamers were flying around, and sparks were being tossed in the air to make tiny fireworks. She could see Fred and George standing on the couch, laughing and singing with their arms around each other. Harry and Ginny were sitting below them, laughing at their antics, while Hermione had tucked herself close to the fire and was smiling softly. She was holding a mug, though it looked as though the golden liquid inside was relatively untouched.

Just as she reached the bottom step, Fred caught her eye and began hollering.

“Look who made it to the party: the party herself! Juniper Persephone Grigoria, get over here and grab a mug, we can’t have the princess of Gryffindor sober on such a splendid evening!” He called, waving her over. She smiled slightly, knowing how much it meant to them for her to be there. Of all those in Gryffindor, Juniper found herself most comfortable with the Weasley twins, and was most often to be found with them. They drove her stark raving mad, but they made her so happy at the same time. She knew that losing them after this year was going to be a huge blow to her heart, and she wasn’t entirely ready to even consider what her days would look like without them. 

As she made her way closer, George hopped down and poured some of the liquor into a red and gold mug with a wonky handle. He handed it to her and let his hand rest on hers for a heartbeat moment.

“It’s good to see you, June. I’m glad you came down,” he said softly, being gentler with her than he was with anyone else. She had noticed about halfway through last year that he treated her with a different kind of tenderness that he did not share with anyone else, and frankly, Juniper had reveled in it. She knew that if she looked at it too closely, her emotions would become tangled and she’d somehow lose that softness, so instead she merely allowed it to happen and embraced it while she could.

“Thanks George. I’m happy to be here. To celebrate the beginning of the end with you.” He smiled at her, and hopped back on the couch with his brother, pulling him close and commanding the attention of the room with a loud holler.

“Thank you all for behaving poorly with us this evening. We would not have been able to finish all this beer on our own,” there was a collective laugh at that, “and thank you to those who have carried us though all these years. We could not have done it without you all. Cheers to the beginning of the end!” George yelled out, lifting his mug and staring directly into Juniper’s eyes. Everyone hollered and hugged, taking big drinks, celebrating what was to truly be a joyous evening.

If only Juniper knew how true the words “beginning of the end” were, she might have bit her tongue.


	4. III

The next morning, Juniper heavily considered not going to class. The ringing in her head was piercing, and she felt as though she was going to black out from sheer pain that was radiating to her eyes. Unfortunately, Juniper did not have the guts to dip out of the very first day. Her professors loved her, and skipping day one would reflect very poorly on her academic perfection. Juniper had never learned any spells to alleviate pain, so drugs and water it would have to be.

Standing slowly and meandering as weakly as possible to the bathroom, Juniper looked at her haggard expression. Her white hair looked dull, and her eyes lacked their normal lustre. Her skin was pale, not reflecting the glowing tan she normally sported. She looked, for lack of a better word, awful. But the memory of last night made a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

They had been rambunctious, to say the least. After being persuading into drinking way too many pints, Juniper had found herself laughing and singing along with the rest. Even her normally tense relationship with Hermione was softened, them laughing and holding each other’s hand by the fire while watching the boys skipped around hooting and hollering. After they had calmed down a bit, they had all drifted to the couches and chairs and snuggled up with one another to recall the events of the summer. George had quickly scooped her up into his arms and plunked down on the couch with her, earning a giggle and a definitive blush from Juniper. He’d held her close, never crossing any lines, but not letting her go either. 

They had all sat comfortably together until the sun began to rise, and Hermione made everyone get at least two hours of sleep before the first day of class. After some moans and groans, they all made their way to their respective rooms, George escorting her right to the door. She thanked him, and made plans to go to the lake with him later that week. It had become a tradition for them to go and spend evenings hiding out at the little lake behind the castle, smoking stolen herbs and acting generally like idiots. It gave them some peace and clarity when they did have to return to reality, so Juniper was incredibly grateful for those moments. 

She made quick work of braiding the top portion of her hair and splashed cold water all over her face. She had hoped this would lighten her mood, but a quick brush over the back of her neck revealed that the line remained, and immediately her disposition soured once more. It wasn’t a bad dream or a temporary lapse in reality. She really truly was the proud new owner of a forced and magical tattoo. Juniper knew deep down, whatever this was, it was only the beginning.

She was quick to get dressed and head down to the Great Hall, knowing she’d be a miserable slug if she didn’t eat something before class. Hermione was there, reading away, and Harry was stuffing butter and cranberry jam toast into his mouth.

“Good morning, darlings,” Juniper said, sitting next to Harry. He smiled at her, mouth full of bread, and Hermione made a noise of acknowledgement. Juniper scraped some fruit and yogurt onto her plate and began to eat.

“How was last night?” Harry asked when his mouth was cleared. She eyed him suspiciously. Hermione lifted her eyes from her book.

“You were there. How was last night for you two?” Juniper said defensively, and a small blush creeped up Harry’s neck, and Hermione quickly returned to her book. If there was one thing Juniper, Hermione and Harry had in common, it was weird relationships with Weasley’s. 

“Fine, thank you. Although we weren’t the ones escorted up to our rooms by someone who definitely didn’t live there,” Hermione countered, and Juniper raised an eyebrow at her. Sure, Ron didn’t escort her to the door, but that was because he was too thick to notice Hermione’s feelings unless they backhanded him across the face.

“Nothing happened, Hermione. He merely walked me to the door, like a gentleman. You only wish you knew what that was like,” Juniper said back, and Harry choked on his pumpkin juice. Hermione looked taken aback, gave the both of them a withering glance, and promptly left the table. Harry tried to call after her, but she was long gone. 

“Ah, June, why you have to be so cruel? You know she’s sensitive about all that shit with Ron,” Harry said, leaning an elbow on the table. Juniper couldn’t do much more than roll her eyes. While her and Hermione were friends, it was easy to see them drifting apart slowly over time. Perhaps it was due to Hermione’s resentment for Juniper’s ever-increasing skill and knowledge, or perhaps, if Juniper made an effort to look inside herself, she’d see that it had more to do with her ever changing persona and desires. Where once she craved peace, she felt her mind slip over to power. Where once she’d desired friendship with her peers, now she searched for fear. Juniper had chalked it all up to growing up and becoming more adult, but based on the strange events of yesterday, it seemed as though perhaps that wasn’t exactly the case.

“I’m sorry, Potter. I am trying with her. She just seems… different these days. Me too. We’re growing apart, and it isn’t something I exactly know how to fix,” Juniper confessed, but Harry merely nodded in understanding.

“It’s okay. Just, take it easy on her. I’m not saying you have to rectify anything right now, just maybe a little kindness, that’s all.” Juniper nodded at him, and quickly finished off her yogurt.  
“I have to go. But I’ll see you later at Quidditch tryouts?” She asked, and Harry’s face immediately lit up.

“Of course! Can’t wait to see you kick ass,” he said, and Juniper laughed at his unmatched confidence in her. She turned to leave the room, heading directly for the large door in the back.  
Just as she made it, it swung open to reveal a sickly-looking Malfoy. He stared at her in panic, looking worse than even yesterday. She apologized to him, and he mumbled a response she couldn’t quite hear, quickly darting to the Slytherin table, but not before Juniper got a look at the back of his neck.

Poking out of the white collar of his shirt, was a single solid black line.  
_____________________

Juniper spent the rest of the day chewing furiously on the end of her quill. She knew it was going to be destroyed and she’d need another, but she couldn’t be bothered to think about that right now. Her mind was much too occupied with what she had seen earlier.

Juniper knew in her gut that what she had seen was the exact same mark she had on Draco’s neck. There was no mistaking it, it was too distinct. He just simply did not have the hair to hide it like she did. Now the question remained; why did Draco Malfoy have the same tattoo as Juniper? And who else had it? And what in the hell was it?

Her quill snapped finally under the pressure of her teeth, and Juniper was awoken from her thoughts.

“Miss Grigoria, care to explain why your quill was so haphazardly placed between your teeth?” Horace Slughorn asked. Juniper looked up at him, apologies dancing on the tip of her tongue, but instead she merely sighed.

“No sir. My apologies. My head isn’t all here, I don’t feel well,” she said, hoping she looked as awful as she felt.

“No worries, my child. I hear you’re an excellent Potions student, according to Professor Snape,” Snape had complimented her? That was a shock, “so I’d imagine you’ll be just fine missing the end of the lesson. Off you go.” Juniper felt relief wash over her, and she quickly gathered her books and left the room. She gave Harry an apologetic glance across the room, and he simply smiled and pointed to his books, promising her the notes silently. She felt immensely better knowing she wouldn’t miss anything too severe.

Her immediate plan was to head straight to the library to try and read about the events of the past day, but she was immediately sidetracked by a streak of blonde hair scurrying down the hall.

Draco.

Quickly changing directions, Juniper followed at a distance, making sure he didn’t realize she was there. He was walking fast, his eyes darting every which way to make sure no one was seeing him. Oh, how Juniper longed for Harry’s invisibility cloak right now. 

After walking for some time, into a random hallway high in the castle that Juniper was sure they did not have class in, she watched from behind a pillar as Draco paced in front of a stone wall. He wasn’t in his school uniform, but rather an all-black suit with cufflinks shaped like little dragons. Juniper had to resist the urge to scoff at the ego those required, but it was quickly washed away when she watched as the wall dissolved before her very eyes to reveal a door. She gasped as Draco quickly slipped inside, and the wall immediately began to reform.  
Running out from her hiding place, Juniper placed her hands on the cold stone before her, amazed at what she had seen. She’d heard of this before; the Room of Requirement. Harry and his friends had used it to train Dumbledore’s Army. Due to training she’d received from her father, who was a doctor turned Auror, she had not needed the lessons Harry was offering. Instead, she had made herself useful to them by finding new and inventive ways to distract those looking for the room, such as the Inquisitorial Squad. It had been a fun challenge and had kept her so busy that she had never actually been inside the room, and no one had ever ratted her out when Umbridge finally brought it down. Juniper had assumed that her bursting in would have destroyed the room, but it appeared that was not the case.

Now, one of the very men who had destroyed the room last year was utilizing it himself. Juniper quickly ran through her memory to recall what Harry had told her should she have ever needed to get in.

_Pace three times and say exactly where you’re trying to get. Picture it, in your mind. Picture us and think of what we’re all doing in there. It will bring you to us._

Juniper opened her eyes and straightened her back. She wasn’t sure this would work, since she was looking for a person rather than a certain need, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. She walked before the wall three times, then turned on her heel to face it directly.

“I need to see Draco. It’s important. Please.”

And just like that, the wall began to crumble.


	5. IV

Time felt like it was slowing as Juniper watched the wall before her dissolve into an ornate door. It was massive, probably nine or ten feet tall, and it had beautiful intricate designs that resembled ivy.

Juniper took a deep breath and watched as the door finished its transformation. She did a quick look around to ensure that no one saw her, and then immediately pushed it open. She was suddenly hit with a wave of heat, and she stripped her robe off in the doorway and laid it on a slightly wonky chair. The sight before her was astounding, and for a moment she wasn’t sure she was in the right place.

Piles and piles of random objects were littered around the room, creating a sort of maze. Juniper spotted brooms, books, couches, the odd bike or suit of armour, you name it, it was probably in the room. The place was absolutely littered with forgotten items. It would take months, maybe even years to organize it. 

Distracted by the stacks of things, Juniper almost forgot what she had come in here for, until she heard a noise coming from further inside. Juniper immediately remembered her object of desire: Draco. She rolled the sleeves of her sweater up and started off to where she thought the sound might be. 

Wandering around for what felt like ages, in a room that was barely lit, Juniper almost decided to give up. Perhaps the room had not sent her to Draco, because he had specifically requested to be alone. But just as she went to turn back in the direction she came, she came face to face with the man she had been searching for. He looked handsome up close in the suit, but his skin looked just as waxy and sick as before. Juniper had noticed before how they had an almost similar appearance, white hair and pale skin, but their eyes were completely different. His, a bright silver surrounded by a cloudy grey, and hers, molten honey and liquid sunshine. Draco had an almost wild look in said eyes, staring at her from a few inches above, and he did not look pleased.

His wand was out, pressed right to the column of Juniper’s throat, and she swallowed, a little nervous that he might just kill her right then and there. The two had never had any direct issues, but he certainly didn’t like her based off the company she kept.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” He asked, eyeing her up and down, and then glancing around the room. “Are you alone?”

“I came looking for you, actually, and yes, I am alone.” Juniper let out a breath when Draco slowly lowered his wand, but he immediately turned away from her and began to walk away. 

“Draco, wait!” Juniper called, walking after him. He didn’t stop, but he did turn his head to call over his shoulder at her.

“Get out of here, Juniper. You shouldn’t be in here,” he said, but Juniper continued to follow him through the stacks. 

“I really need to talk to you about something, it’s important,” she said back, but he just scoffed.

“Maybe to you, but I doubt it is to me. Go away. Run back to your little golden trio. I’m sure they’re missing their sidekick right now.” Draco laughed as he said it, and Juniper hated to admit that it stung a bit, but nevertheless, she persisted.

“This doesn’t concern them. It’s about you and me. That mark on your neck—" In a flash, Draco was on her, so close she could smell the evergreen under his collar, see the moles on his neck, hear his breathing.

“What did you just say?” He asked calmly, but it was laced with a deadly venom that made Juniper take a small step back.

“I said, the mark on your neck. I want to know what it is,” she said, but he merely glared. She rolled her eyes and turned around, pulling her hair to the front. “I have one too, and it just appeared last night, and I don’t know what it is or how it got there…” she was cut off by Draco getting close to her and running a finger down the mark. 

The moment is hand touched her, whispers filled her ears once more, and she knew something bad was going to happen. Pain radiated from her neck, and she whipped around to look at Draco, who was also frantically holding his neck. Juniper immediately felt sick, like all the good things in the world were being sucked away from her, and she was left feeling cold and empty. He looked terrified, like she had just shown him her third eye or something. The two of them both collapsed to their knees, Juniper crying out from the pain while Draco merely twisted his face up. The feeling didn’t last long however, and soon reality came spinning back, and they both stared at each other breathing heavily. Draco rose to his feet and looked as though he might offer her his hand to help her up but thought better of touching her again. She got up herself, rolling her shoulders and trying to shake the awful shivers she suddenly felt. 

“Draco… what the fuck was that?” He looked around like maybe he could make a run for it, but instead he leaned closer to her and breathed his next words strongly into her face.

“Stay away from this place. Go to your classes, go to Quidditch, do not do anything different. You have to pretend nothing has changed. Do not let anyone know about this. Understand?” He said feverishly, looking a bit mad in the process. Juniper looked shocked, unsure of how to respond to that.

“I… Draco, that doesn’t answer my question in the slightest. What the hell is it?” She inquired further, but he shook his head.

“I’m not involving you in this. Especially not with the friend group you currently possess,” he said with as much disdain as he could muster, but he softened his tone after that, “Just stay away from me and Slytherin and anything that you wouldn’t normally associate with. Seriously.”

Juniper sighed slowly. “I just want to know what the hell is going on,” she said. Draco turned away from her once more.

“No, you don’t.”

And there, poking out of his suit, was a second line.  
_____________________

Juniper left the Room of Requirement completely empty handed. Nothing she had said to Draco had convinced him otherwise, and she was walking away feeling more confused than ever. She wasn’t quite sure how he expected her to just simply forget about what was a permanent part of her body now, but clearly that was his intention. But it wasn’t going to happen. If Draco wouldn’t help her, she’d figure it out on her own.

Juniper didn’t need to look at her neck to know she too possessed a new line. Something was happening to her and Draco, and she was going to figure it out with or without him.  
She made her way straight to the Quidditch pitch, hoping a few warm-up laps would help shake the sinking feeling in her gut. Harry was there with Ginny, and they were standing around the box of Quidditch balls.

“Hey guys,” she said, hoping her face didn’t give away the strange interaction she’d just had. Clearly, it did.

“Hey June. Are you okay? You look a bit pale,” Ginny asked, genuinely concerned, but she just shook her head in response.

“Did you get some rest after you left class?” Harry asked, and she nodded.

“Yeah, I, um, got a bit in. Clearly just a bad hangover. Not my greatest start to the year, but I’ve been worse.”

“Well good, because I want you back on the team as Chaser, and it’ll look bad if I give it to you after absolutely sucking today,” Ginny laughed, and it made June smile.

“Don’t worry. Quidditch is my happy place. I’ll be just fine up there. I can kick a couple of third year tryouts in my sleep,” she replied, before heading off in the direction of the changeroom.  
_____________________

Quidditch tryouts went exceptionally well, and Juniper played extremely well given her current state. She almost even forgot about what had happened with Draco and the Room. 

“Well done guys. You all played really today. It’s been a tough decision, but Ginny and I are confident we’re going to have a kickass team this year. If you don’t make the team, don’t fret it, we’d love to have you back next year to try again,” Harry said, rather timidly, as his public speaking skills were never incredible. He listed off who would be playing what position, and Juniper was both pleased and unsurprised that she had snagged exactly what they had hoped she would; Chaser.

Walking off the pitch, Juniper noticed Ron jumping excitedly with his teammates, slapping each other on the back and hooting. Ron had never made the team before and had beat out the insufferable Cormac McLaggen for the position of Keeper (although a small part of Juniper knew that Hermione might have had something to do with that). She was happy for him, smiling at both him and Harry as she headed to the change room. She opened her locker to pull her things out and smiled softly to herself, but it immediately fell as soon as she remembered her and Draco’s predicament. If this strange soul-aching pain was going to haunt her all the time, it was going to be a very long year. She needed to figure out what was going on with her, how to get rid of it, and fast. If the mark behind her blonde hair was going to keep growing, she needed to find a way to remove it before any of her friends noticed, and she had to make up some strange lie. The others filtered into the room, congratulating one another, patting her on the back and expressing their excitement, their hope to finally kick Slytherin to the ground this year.

Juniper may have been surrounded by all of her friends, but she had never felt more alone in her life.


	6. V

The next few weeks passed by painfully slow. Juniper was doing exceptionally well in her classes, and they were actually doing really amazing in Quidditch as well. Her personal life, however, was floundering. She had gotten no further when it came to figuring out what was happening to her, although nothing had changed since the second line. No weird whispers, no more pain, nothing. Draco had made special effort to stay far away from her, but she hadn’t exactly become forthcoming towards him either. Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

Juniper had spied on him a few times going into the Room of Requirement, always coming out about an hour or so later, but she never had the guts to actually go inside and see what he was up to. She’d spent quite a few hours in the library gathering books to hopefully help her with what was going on, and she often curled up in a little window nook to read and watch Draco’s coming and going from the room.

She had hung out with George a handful of times, but he hadn’t tried to touch her in any way more than what a friend would. She kind of wished he’d just get on with it already, since it was so painfully obvious he was interested, but no such luck. Juniper was trying to focus her attention on him, and figure out how she felt, but unfortunately, her brain was constantly elsewhere. George didn’t seem to notice, however. He was just happy to be spending time with Juniper. And he did alleviate some of the stress she had been feeling.

Juniper had made some very minor steps in her struggle to figure out what was happening. Firstly, the marks weren’t tattoos, but rather burns, which made sense as to why they hurt so much when they appeared. Secondly, this wasn’t a soulmate thing, because she read that a hundred times in a hundred different books, and those were supposed to be happy experiences. Feeling joy, elation, no pain at all. This was definitely the exact opposite of that. Thirdly, this didn’t have anything to do with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. There was no written history anywhere of him branding his followers or enemies with anything, other than the obvious Dark Mark. But that appeared on the inside of the right arm, and never anywhere else. These were the only conclusions she’d come to since she began her search ages ago, and she was about ready to confront Draco again just to get some relief.

“Juniper!” Ginny called from the end of the Great Hall, knocking Juniper out of her thoughts. She looked up and smiled, but the panicked look on Ginny’s face made her drop that smile, and she immediately stood up.

“What’s wrong?” She asked when Ginny finally made it to her.

“It’s Harry. He’s completely busted up his arm, he’s in the hospital wing,” Ginny said, panting. Juniper quickly gathered her books and ran from the Hall and downwards to the hospital. It wasn’t uncommon for Harry or Ron, or even Hermione, to end up there from time to time, given all their adventures, but Juniper didn’t recall them telling her they were going somewhere. Perhaps the Golden Trio was finally pushing out their tag-a-long, her brain whispered to her, recalling what Draco had said to her so long ago. She pushed those thoughts away and focused in on Harry as she entered the hospital. She wasn’t going to think like that. 

“June! I knew you just couldn’t stay away,” Harry said smiling, but he looked worse for wear.

“What in Merlin’s name have you done to yourself?” Juniper asked, plunking herself down in one of the chairs beside him. Ron was there in his Quidditch gear beside him, looking rather glum.

“I have unfortunately been involved in a small Quidditch accident. Nothing crazy, I promise.”

“It’s all my fault. I asked him to practice with me,” Ron said, barely loud enough for Juniper to hear.

“It isn’t your fault, Ron, I agreed. Things happen. But this is where you come in Junie,” Harry said, and Juniper bristled at the awful nickname. “My arm is going to be out for about a week, so I need you to play Seeker tomorrow night in the game”.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I need you to play Seeker”. 

“But I’m not a Seeker”.

Ginny finally stepped forward. “No, you’re not, but you’re the second best for it after Harry. We have a backup Chaser, but Seeker is more complicated, and it requires more skill, you know this. You’re the only other person on the team with that kind of knowledge,” she said, silently begging Juniper. She looked between Harry and Ginny, and up at Ron, who was still moping in his chair. Sigh.

“I don’t know, Harry. Seeker is your thing, it has been since first year. I haven’t ever played Seeker outside of practice,” Juniper tried, not really interested in switching her role up.

“I know, but a Seeker who is a little rusty is better than no Seeker at all. Besides, we’ve messed around chasing the Snitch together before, and you’re actually pretty good. Please, June, the team needs you for this one. We’d owe you big time,” he pleaded, and Juniper let out a sigh. Harry was right. If they even wanted to stand a chance tomorrow, they would have to have a Seeker on the field, or else they’d get their asses handed to them.

“Alright. Just this once. And then you better be fucking fixed up,” Juniper said, and Ginny jumped for joy. Harry grabbed her hand and squeezed it. 

“Thank you. Really. I know you’re going to kick ass tomorrow. I’ll run you through some drills tomorrow after class, just to get a little physical reminder of it,” Harry said, and Juniper nodded once in agreement. A thought popped into her head then.

“Who are we playing against again?” She asked, turning to look at Ron, who still hadn’t perked up. He did look up at her then, however, and let out a sigh.

“Slytherin,” he said, and Juniper felt her gut drop. She was going to have to play against the one person who was trying to put as much distance in between them as possible for the last however many weeks.

Because Slytherin’s Seeker was Draco Malfoy.  
_____________________

All day, Juniper had been a nervous wreck. She’d been considering throwing up just to try and get rid of the butterflies, but she hadn’t managed to eat anything to throw up. She knew that this game wasn’t a make or break performance, and if they didn’t win, no one would pin it on her, but still. Facing off against Slytherin outside of her normal position, against Draco of all people, was not allowing her to rest easy.

Currently she was flying aggressively on her broom through various floating objects, Harry sitting precariously atop his own broom and yelling at her.

“Come on, Juniper, I know you can fly faster!” He shouted, and she pushed harder. This sort of timed drill made her focus, and the panic almost completely subsided. She could do this.

She finished the lap and stopped in front of Harry. He was smiling at her, and she took that as a good sign. “That was great, June. You could give me a run for my money next year, if you want to try out for Seeker,” he said, and she laughed.

“I appreciate that boost of confidence, Harry, but I think I’ll leave it to you after today. But I’m glad I won’t completely let the team down,” she replied, and he nodded.

“I really appreciate this. Seriously. I’ve been so off my game lately anyways, so maybe losing out on an opportunity to kick Slytherin’s ass will get me back into it,” Harry said, his eyes a little distant. Juniper tilted her head to come back into his line of sight, but he still didn’t make any motion of truly seeing her.

“Harry? Are you okay? You seem… off,” she asked cautiously, but he didn’t make a move to contradict her or snap back to reality.

“Honestly? I am sort of off. Something is going on with Draco,” he said, and Juniper felt her blood run cold. “He’s hiding something, I just know it. No one believes me, but I can tell. And I’ve got this weird textbook…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “Sorry, June. I’m sure you think I’m as crazy as everyone else does”.

“No, Harry, I actually don’t,” she started, and he turned his head up to look at her. “I think something is going on with him. Actually, I know something is going on with him,” Juniper began to say. Harry looked at her wide-eyed, and went to respond, but suddenly a voice came from behind.

“Hey! I can’t believe you guys were actually going to practice without me!” Ron shouted, clumsily mounting his broom. Harry turned back to her, and whispered low.

“Later, in the library, after the game,” he said, and Juniper nodded in response. She knew this wasn’t something he wanted to discuss in front of Ron, as he continually told Harry he was acting ridiculous, and Juniper wasn’t nearly close enough to Ron to talk about what was going on.

“Of course not, Ron. Come on, I’ll race you a few times around the track,” Juniper said, and off they went, all thoughts of Draco pushed from their minds.  
_____________________

Juniper felt all the nerves come crashing back as soon as she stepped onto the pitch. Slytherin was already here, flying laps around and getting the audience amped up. The stands were packed, as they normally were for Gryffindor versus Slytherin games, but it had also gotten around that Harry Potter would not be acting as Seeker today due to an injury, but rather Juniper Grigoria would be taking his place. She tried to push down the butterflies, but it was getting increasingly difficult, especially as she laid eyes on Draco hovering off to the side, watching his team float around. He remained impassive, and Juniper forced herself to look away.

“Players! To your positions!” Madame Hooch called, and Juniper kicked off to join her teammates in the air. She spotted Harry sitting in an upper box, and he gave her a small nod of encouragement. She aligned herself with the broom in front of her and lifted her eyes to look at Draco.

He stared at her; a smirk plastered across his face. He looked like he could absolutely devour her. Juniper knew this was his element, and she was about to get her ass handed to her, but she couldn’t help but admit that this confidence he had been missing looked very good on him. He looked as though he maybe had a bit more colour in his cheeks, and the green covering him was incredibly flattering. 

Juniper quickly looked away, because she had a sneaking suspicion her thoughts were displayed all over her face. Suddenly the whistle blew, and Juniper flew off to the side to try and watch for the Snitch. Draco sat atop his broom a few metres away, and he was scanning the pitch just as intensely. A set of gloomy looking clouds began to roll in, but Juniper was much too focused on the pitch to care. She flew around to the other side, swerving around her teammates, completely zoning out of the game and the cheers. The sky continued to darken, but Juniper was determined to not let her team down.

Just as she had thoughts of moving to a different spot, she saw it. Gleaming in the centre of the pitch, reflecting the small amount of remaining light, was the Snitch. She immediately sped towards it, barely registering Draco doing the exact same thing. The Snitch flew in between the stands, and underneath the curtains that covered them, and both Draco and Juniper dove underneath to chase after it. She only had a slight lead on him, and she was determined to beat him. To have won over the second greatest Seeker in the school would give Juniper the attention she really craved. 

She was so focused; she didn’t even notice the screaming coming from outside of the wooden structure. The snitch flew out of a small gap in the posts, and Juniper turned to follow it out, but she came face to face with an absolute nightmare.

A Dementor.

She stopped so abruptly that Draco crashed into her, and the two of them were sent tumbling off their brooms. The ground was coming up fast, and Juniper braced from impact.

“Aresto Momentum!” Draco shouted from beside her, and the two stopped mere inches from the ground. He let them go and she hit the ground with a small thud. “Fucking hell!” He shouted, turning back to look above the chaos that was ensuing. Dementors were swarming the stands and players, and screams could be heard from all around. It was madness, and Juniper had no idea where to even start. “We have to get out of here, Juniper,” Draco said, scrambling to his feet.

“No! I can’t leave them all here like this!” She shouted back, and Draco looked as though he might drag her out and not even give her the chance to argue, but something in her face made him stop. He sighed and motioned to her wand.

“Do you know how to cast a Patronus?” He asked, and she shrugged.

“I know how, but I’ve never been able to cast a full one. My dad taught me. Do you know how?” She asked, and he nodded.

“Yes. Long story. Listen, you have to try, you have to give it everything you ever have. Happiest memory. Expecto Patronum. If you want to help, this is your only shot. You must focus, do not drop it,” he said, and she quickly tried to absorb all he was saying. Putting their wands in the air, Draco grabbed her wrist with his free hand, and Juniper felt like her energy was suddenly super charged.

“What the fu—”

“Now, Juniper!” The two of them shouted the spell, happiest memories in their minds, Draco not letting go of her wrist. 

The bright white light before her was so intense, she almost looked away, but made sure to remain focused. The most incredible magic was coming from their wands. A Dragon flew high above the crowd, coming from Juniper’s wand, and the magical creature Runespoor slithered upwards from Draco’s. The two of them forced their way through the pitch and crowd, pushing Dementors outwards. The patronuses moved around each other fluidly, like old friends, working just as hard as their creators. The screams began to fade out, and Juniper saw a crack in the clouds begin to form. She felt herself getting dizzy, but she simply pushed harder, thinking of her friends. 

As the last of the Dementors were forced out of the pitch, the clouds cleared away, and the day looked as though nothing had happened at all. Draco and Juniper’s patronuses continued to dance around one another, finally swooping down to their creators and drifting away into nothingness. Juniper dropped her wand and fell flat on her back, her energy completely sucked away from her. Draco fell beside her, and let go of her wrist. The energy crash she felt as soon as they were separated was almost painful, and she couldn’t do much more than turn her head to glance at him. He looked just as exhausted as her. His eyes were dulled, but he didn’t break contact with her.

The entire stadium had stood quietly and watched as the two of them let go of their patronuses. No one had ever seen such magic, seen two patronuses work so flawlessly together. Even the professors had paused, unsure of how to proceed. It was Dumbledore who shouted for Madame Pomfrey and the Prefects to come and examine the students who had been attacked, making his way towards the ground. 

And that was when Draco and Juniper closed their eyes and the world grew dark.


	7. VI

The room was spinning when Juniper became aware of her surroundings. She felt the intense urge to vomit, but she couldn’t even force her eyes open, let alone move her body to throw up. Voices were swirling around her, but she couldn’t quite distinguish them from the blood rushing through her ears. Dizziness continued to plague her, and although she tried to rouse her body, nothing seemed to do the trick. Instead, she welcomed back the darkness.

_____________________

This time, when Juniper came back around, the nausea was much more tolerable, and she didn’t feel as though her body was completely out of control, hurtling into space with no regard for direction. She forced her eyes open slowly, to figure out where she was.

It was evident she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, Madame Pomfrey pacing around at her workstation near the end. There were a few other students in bed, mostly asleep. Or what she hoped was just sleep.

“Oh dear, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” Pomfrey asked when she turned around to notice Juniper’s consciousness.

“I’m alright. A bit dizzy but nothing too horrible. Might I have some water?” She asked, and Pomfrey nodded. Bringing over a glass, Juniper drank it in one gulp, letting the sensation settle in her belly. “Madame Pomfrey, might I ask… is Draco in here?” Juniper asked softly, hoping no one else heard her. Madame Pomfrey gave her a little bit of a side eye, but Juniper chose to ignore it. 

“He was, for a while. Left about an hour ago, refused any more treatment. I tried to get him to drink some medication, but he just wouldn’t have it,” she said, and Juniper sighed in frustration. Of course he’d be up and out of here as fast as possible.

“He’s alright though?” Juniper asked, and Madame Pomfrey nodded. “Might I leave as well?” 

“Of course, dear. Let me just get you something to take,” she responded, turning back to her workstation. Juniper got out of bed, still in most of her Quidditch gear. Her legs were a bit shaky, but for the most part, she felt alright. Madame Pomfrey gave her some herbs to put in her tea later in the evening and sent her on her way. 

Juniper walked briskly through the halls, hoping no one would stop her. She needed to speak with Harry, but she wasn’t exactly sure where she might find him.

“Juniper!” Someone called, and Juniper cringed as she stopped in her tracks. She turned around to meet none other than George Weasley. He caught up to her and she tried to smile as best as possible, but she knew her eyes gave her away. “Are you alright? Madame Pomfrey wouldn’t let any of us in the hospital wing to see you, and you can be damn sure we tried everything in the books,” he said, and she squeezed his shoulder.

“Thanks George, I appreciate that. I’m alright. Just a bit shook up is all. You haven’t seen Harry, have you?” She asked, and George nodded.

“Yeah, he’s in the library. Left dinner early and said he needed to do some research, wouldn’t let anyone come with him. Juniper, what the hell was that with Draco down on the pitch? I mean, it was fucking beautiful, but I didn’t know you two were… close,” George said, trying to choose his words delicately. Juniper felt herself deflate a bit, hoping that it wouldn’t have seemed like a big deal. But of course it was. That was… incredibly rare and advanced magic her and Draco had performed.

“We’re not. Look George, I really have to see Harry. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Juniper spoke lowly, turning away from George.

“But--,” he tried shouting to her, but she had swiftly moved onwards through the crowds of whispering students. Obviously, there was still a bit of chaos, students trying to figure out what had happened and why the Dementors had shown up on Hogwarts grounds, somewhere they were definitely not allowed to be after Umbridge’s departure. Many people looked at Juniper funny, and a part of her wishes she had listened to Draco and just gotten the hell out of there. She didn’t think them helping would cause such a fuss, but hindsight was 20/20 and Juniper was seeing perfectly clear now.

The library was silent, no student considering now a good time to study. Juniper walked as quickly as she could through the aisles, keeping an eye out for Harry. She found him almost at the end, multiple books laid around him. He lifted his eyes when she came around the corner, and immediately stood up when he saw it was her.

“Juniper. Please, come sit. I’ve got some stuff,” he said, and Juniper went to sit across from him.

“What… what is all of this?” she asked, trying to peak at the titles. There were books on dark magic, advanced spells and… soulmates.

“I’m not even sure if I’m looking in the right place but, I’m trying to figure out what happened with you and Draco down on the pitch.” Juniper felt the blood rush from her face, and she instantly panicked.

“Nothing happened. He just told me what to do, and we cast the spell at the same time. No big deal. Saved everyone’s asses, though,” she laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but Harry just looked at her with raised eyebrows. She dropped her face and waited for him to continue.

“To the students here, maybe, perhaps you both just knew the spell and in a time of panic, you worked together to save your school, no concern for houses or sides. But I know better, Juniper. That’s super advanced magic, that we haven’t even been taught yet,” Harry said, tapping a quill on the wooden table.

“You know how to do it.”

“Yes, because I was taught outside of school in order to protect myself. It wasn’t something in a lesson. And for you to just be told the spell offhandedly and then produce a fully corporeal Patronus? That takes time, and effort, and training. You just, pulled that out of nowhere. And they were perfect. Massive. Also, I know how a Patronus behaves. It responds to its creator only, like a sidekick. But yours and Draco’s were like… old friends. They worked so well together; you’d think they belonged to one person. And I saw him, holding your arm. There’s an energy transfer there, and Draco knew it. I want to know how he knew it, too. He isn’t the type to latch onto rivaling Gryffindors without good reason. But obviously there is no way I can just ask him; he’d never give me the time of day.” Harry continued, looking back down at the book again. Juniper was running out of excuses, and she knew Harry was more observant than anyone gave him credit for. He may not have had the brains that Hermione did, but he noticed things others might have slipped up on.

“Harry, I’m really sure it wasn’t anything. It was probably a fluke, and I was nervous, so he was probably trying to ground me.” Juniper gave one last ditch effort, and Harry threw his quill down. 

“Juniper, you can’t lie to me. Don’t lie to me. I know you better than that, and you know me better than that. I saw your neck. And his. I made sure to cover it with your hair before they got you off the pitch, but I noticed Draco’s too. Those are twin burns. I’m not an idiot. That kind of passage of energy is unique and extremely uncommon. I’m trying to read more about it here, but the information is sparse. These kinds of things aren’t often recorded, because they don’t exist in the real world.” Juniper felt tears slipping down her cheeks, and she put every ounce of effort in not to look right at Harry.

“Please don’t tell anyone. Please. I’m begging you. I don’t know what’s going on and I’m terrified. Draco won’t speak to me, he won’t bring me into the loop to tell me what’s going on, and I’m just panicky every time I’m near him. I’m so scared something bad is happening, or is going to happen soon, that I feel disconnected like I’m walking through water. But Harry, please, don’t tell anyone else. I don’t want to scare my friends off before I even get the chance to figure out what this is,” Juniper begged, and Harry sighed.

“Okay. I think we’d do a lot better with some more brains on this, but it is your decision, ultimately. We’ll keep it between us. And Juniper, whatever it is, whatever Draco has done to you, we’re going to figure it out. I don’t think any less of you. Now, can you start from the beginning? I want to have all the details before I try and find some more books,” Harry said, grabbing Juniper’s hand midway through. She took a steadying breath, knowing that of all her friends, Harry was perhaps the most level-headed. He knew the ways of dark magic, and he wouldn’t spiral into conclusions before he had all the facts.

_____________________

After Juniper had explained exactly what had happened to her, from start to finish, she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Harry listened intently, never interrupting her or making her feel inadequate. He wrote down little details, and paid attention to her entire tale. She tried to be as clear as possible about what it was she had experienced, recalling every side effect and painful spasm. She even brought up the Parseltongue.

“You’re certain it was Parseltongue?” He asked, eyeing her not suspiciously, but curiously. Like she was another puzzle to solve that Harry had been assigned to fix. He had a habit of doing that, making it his business to fix the great mysteries of the world, but this time, Juniper didn’t mind. It helped to be understood.

“Yes. I recall hearing you speak it. It sounded exactly like that. But I was understanding it. Which was not the case when I had heard it before.”

Harry hummed and hawed, tapping his quill against his chin. He motioned her over with a hand. “Come here, let me see it,” he said, and Juniper came to sit right in front of him. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and let him examine the markings on her neck. He didn’t say anything at first, but he ran the tip of his finger over the burns. She shivered, and sickly goosebumps covered her skin. It felt very gross to have Harry touch the marks, and she instinctively twitched. “Does it hurt?”.

“No. It’s more just… uncomfortable. Like my body doesn’t like you touching them. But I don’t think it’s you, I think it would be anyone. It feels… uncomfortable. Like you aren’t meant to be touching them,” she replied, and turned back around to face him properly. Harry continued to look at her strangely, and she waited for him to say something. Anything.

After an uncomfortable amount of silence, Juniper finally cracked. “Okay, Harry, spit it out. You look like you have something to say, and I’m not going to like it, so you might as well just be out with it,” she said, crossing her arms. Harry finally put down the quill.

“It’s not that I don’t think you’ll like it; it just feels like I’m back to square one. I don’t think… I don’t think Draco did this to you. Not intentionally, anyway. Everything you said doesn’t align with any of the curses or hexes I’ve read about. And the markings are… strange. I’ve never seen a burn appear like this before, not without being actually branded with something. And it isn’t a soulmate marking, because those are positive experiences and pain free. This hurt you. And Draco looked to be just as sick in the Great Hall as you did when it first started, like he was also in pain. But he knows something about this. I think it’s imperative you talk to him first. Then we can use that information to narrow down our choices for what the hell this is,” Harry rattled on, and Juniper merely nodded quietly.

“That would require him to speak to me, and other than at the Quidditch match, he seemed pretty set to avoid me at all costs. He told me to leave him alone and forget about it. Not do anything weird,” she said, and nervously played with the hem of her Quidditch jersey. 

“Yeah. The way he phrased it seems to imply someone would be watching and he didn’t want attention drawn to yourself. Which is… suspicious. I wonder what he’s hiding. You have to try speaking to him again, and I’m going to try and get into the Room of Requirement to find what it is he is doing. He wouldn’t just be going in there for no reason.” Juniper felt really nervous by Harry’s subtle but palpable panic about all of this.

“Perhaps he’s just going in for a quick wank,” Juniper tried to offer, but Harry rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, he just pops in there for a two-hour crank session and then heads off to class looking worse and worse every time. He’s definitely doing that,” Harry remarked sarcastically. Juniper realized it sounded stupid, but she was really worried Harry was onto something. 

Someone was watching Draco, and by extension, Juniper.

Suddenly, a prefect burst to the back of the library, and skidded to a stop in front of Harry and Juniper. “Dumbledore has called a meeting. With the whole school. In the Great Hall. Right now,” the prefect sputtered out between ragged breaths. He clearly had been running around trying to gather the entire school together. Juniper felt a bit bad for him.

“Okay. Thank you,” Harry said, and the prefect ran away from them again, off to find others. He looked over at Juniper sympathetically, and she sighed softly.

“It’s okay. I’ll try and talk to Draco,” Juniper said lowly, not really looking forward to it at all. Harry began organizing all the books together into a neat pile using his wand and packed a handful of them into his backpack.

“I’m going to help you figure this out, June. I’m not stranding you in the deep end. I promise. And we don’t need to tell anyone until you’re ready. Even if that’s never,” he said reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving a squeeze. Juniper smiled up at him, and she helped him carry a few books as they walked rather quickly to the Great Hall.  
Just as they were about to walk in, Harry whispered to her. “By the way, nice Patronus. Dragon. Pretty cool. Ambitious, passionate, impulsive, a fury like no other. Sounds like you, alright.”

Juniper couldn’t help but laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spicy boys, spicy boys


	8. VII

The Great Hall was packed, every student having been summoned there. Harry and Juniper found a place amongst their friends at the Gryffindor table, and Juniper tried desperately to catch Draco’s eye. He refused to look up from the table however, intent on staring deep into the woodgrain before him. 

As the last of the students filtered in, Dumbledore stood before the crowd.

“Good evening, students, I hope that you have all tended to your injuries and your worries. Today’s Quidditch match has left us with quite the dilemma, that we must address in full. The presence of Dementors was unprecedented and a violation of the Ministry’s own laws. They have been informed of the incident and are organizing a team to investigate why on earth they were here in the first place. Now, rest assured, many wards have been put up, and extra precautions have been taken to ensure this does not happen again. I am well aware of the extent of the trauma that being attacked by a Death Eater can impose, so please do not hesitate to reach out to Madam Pomfrey, any of the staff or myself should you need someone to talk to. I promise that as soon as I am given more information regarding the attack, I will inform you of all the details. You should not be left in the dark. Now, on to the di-“

“Is anyone going to talk about Juniper and Malfoy? What the hell was that?” A student from the Ravenclaw table called, and Juniper immediately ducked her head. She was not interested in being investigated right now, in front of the entire student body.

“Ah, yes, of course. I’m sure you’re all wondering what kind of skill that was. The display of magic that Mr. Malfoy and Miss Grigoria displayed was called a Patronus. It’s a formulation of your happiest memory into a corporeal blast of light and is exceptional when fighting against the Dark Arts. It can be utilized to send messages or merely to protect yourself from an attack. It can act like a shield, or a weapon. It is a very difficult spell to master, and it is very lucky that these two were so adept at it. Learning how to produce a Patronus is a 7th year skill, but it has been added to the 5th and 6th year curriculums following today’s events. This skill will be taught in your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. And for such bravery and quick thinking, 100 points will be given to both Gryffindor and Slytherin”. A wave of cheering burst forth from the tables, but Juniper just sat silently. Luckily, Dumbledore had played it off as a unique skill that they were lucky to have been aware of.

Meaning he knew more than he was letting on.

Juniper tried again to look at Draco, and this time, he actually met her eyes. He looked ill, like the day’s events had shucked him of his entire life force. His skin was more pale than usual, and she could see the dark circles under his eyes all the way from her spot. She wanted to go over to him, to help him, to comfort him, but she knew that would be a fool’s errand. If he didn’t immediately shun her, the rest of her House mates would. 

After the cheering subsided, dinner was waved with a flourish over the tables, and the exhausted students dug in. Juniper tried to eat, but she was struggling to force food into her mouth without feeling sick. She needed to get out of there, before someone began to question her.

“I’m going to go. I think… I think that spell took a lot out of me,” she said, and everyone around her turned to look. She must have looked awful, her hair a mess and her face sunken in. She could feel it.

“Maybe Malfoy stole all your magic,” Ron mumbled, but Juniper ignored it. 

“Let us know if you need anything, June,” Harry said, and Juniper smiled at him gratefully. She got up to leave and noticed Malfoy’s white blonde hair ducking out of the Hall. She walked briskly, hoping to catch him before he disappeared into the Slytherin common room. She was about halfway to the stairs to the dungeon when someone gripped her arm and pulled her into an alcove. She let out a little yelp, crashing into a strong body. Juniper could hear Draco’s voice casting a disillusionment and a silencing charm, before spinning her to face him. She noticed that he was wearing gloves, so their skin never touched and created that awful burning sensation.

“We can’t ever do that again,” he began with, and Juniper crossed her arms in a frustrated manner. Good intro, Malfoy.

“Well I hope we never have to, but is there a reason for your dismay at working alongside me?” She asked, trying to make her tone sound bitter. Draco sighed. 

“I don’t hate working alongside you, but people are going to get very suspicious, if they aren’t already. And it’s going to get even more difficult and obvious for us if we keep… being around one another,” he said to her, running a hand through his already tousled hair. It was hot. For some reason, her brain was going into overdrive being this close to him. She'd never felt this way about anyone, let alone Draco Malfoy, but this wasn't her brain thinking anymore; it was her body. This was not the time to be thinking about running her own hands through his hair, but here she was. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised, pausing with his hand on top of his head. “Stop thinking about my hair”. 

“Wh-what? How did you… Can you read my mind?” Juniper asked him with a shout, trying desperately to shutter her mental windows. Her father had taught her Occlumency, but Legilimancy was her natural gift. Occlumency came with a struggle, but she tried to do her best to shut Malfoy out.

He sighed again, looking at the low ceiling of the alcove. “Yes. And Occlumency won’t help, so stop trying. You’re just going to give yourself a headache. No, I can’t read it all the time, only when you’re close to me, for now”. He seemed to know way too much about what was happening to her, and she was frustrated that she was being left in the dark on something that obviously concerned her too.

“I want to know what’s going on, Malfoy. You know a whole hell of a lot and you’re not letting up, and it’s really pissing me off. This includes me. I’m part of this, I have a right to know. I’m… getting really confused here,” she said, stuttering a bit at the end. He cursed quietly, looking back up at the ceiling.

“Who else knows?” He asked, and Juniper knew she couldn’t lie, not with the weird mind reading thing going on.

“Potter. But before you get angry with me, he figured it out on his own. I tried to dissuade him from digging deeper, but he was pretty insistent. And he suggested I talk to you, to figure this out,” she muttered, twisting the tips of her toes in nervously. The school year had turned out to be a royal catastrophe, and she was quickly losing her wits.

Draco nodded once, seemingly unphased. “He’d make for a good research partner on this. He’s always determined to fix things,” Malfoy said with an eye roll, and Juniper conceded with a small shrug. He wasn’t wrong.

“So you’ll tell me? What’s happening to me?” She asked, and he nodded once.

“It’s called a twin flame. Very old, very dark magic. Even I have barely scratched the surface of the kind of power and knowledge it holds. There are some books on it in the library, but they don’t go into much detail. I’ll… I’ll have some sent along from the Malfoy Library if you promise me, you’ll not try to pursue any of the things you find in there. This will not go the way you want, Juniper. This is dark stuff. And I will not get you entangled in it all,” he said feverishly, and Juniper struggled to take in all the things he was saying to her. 

Twin flame.

She’d never even heard about it, despite having been educated on magic both in and out of school. Soul mates, sure, she’d heard about those plenty of times, more common in magical creatures than in humans, but they still existed.

“I’d… I’d suggest speaking with your father regarding your heritage, Juniper. He might have more answers than even the books. Just please, once you get your fill of this, _drop it._ This is a dangerous line you’re walking, and the only reason I’m telling you is so that perhaps you will leave it alone afterwards,” Draco looked out behind her, then shifted his eyes back to meet hers. “I have to go. I’ll have an owl bring the books to you. This doesn’t go beyond you, me and Potter, understand?” He asked with a gruff tone, and Juniper nodded. He stared at her once more, thoughts obviously swirling in his mind of more things he should say, but he simply slipped out of the alcove past her, and the wards around her dropped, filling her ears with the idle chatter of students.

Despite the urge to head straight to the library, Juniper knew she needed a shower. And some rest. Her body was still protesting the day’s events, and she needed to owl her father to let her know she would be coming home tomorrow.

Trudging up to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione felt like she was in a daze. Draco had dropped a bomb on her, without even really telling her anything. The fact that he encouraged her to speak with her father told her that her father had been lying to her for some time. He had vehemently claimed to not know anything about Juniper’s family and was insistent that any and all relatives were long dead. This was obviously a lie, which settled in Juniper’s bones heavily. Why would he not tell her the truth? Why bother hiding a family if he knew about them, even if they were dead? She deserved to know about them, and he had been adamant that he did not know anything to help her. 

Finally reaching the warm common room decked in splendour of red and gold, Juniper was greeted by many eyes turning to look at her as their hushed conversations grinded to a halt. She didn’t bother to address anyone, and headed straight for the bathroom, but Hermione spoke to her before she could make it safe and sound. 

“Are you going to tell us what that was?” She said haughtily, and Juniper rolled her eyes before she turned to face the crowd.

“Not sure what you’re talking about, ‘Mione, you might need to elaborate,” she replied, an air of innocence surrounding her words. Dean scoffed from his place on the couch.

“You know what she’s talking about. That weird magic trick with Malfoy. The patronus. Harry taught us them last year. That kind of magic is… hard. You can’t just whip that out. And with Malfoy, no less? What are you two playing at?” He said, eyeing her with an incredibly large amount of suspicion. Juniper felt scrutinized under the eyes of all of the Gryffindor patrons. It made her feel uneasy, and the temptation to run was extreme. 

“Probably fucking him,” Ron snickered from off to the side, and those around him barely suppressed their laughs. 

Juniper glared at him, feeling her heart break at the treatment from her own house. “I’m not _fucking_ him, Ron, he isn’t even a friend. He just happened to know how to deal with the Dementors, and I wanted to help. I didn’t see your Patronus out there helping, Ronald,” she said with as much disdain as possible. Ron’s face fell, and he remained quiet, but others were not so inclined to step away.

“That isn’t what Harry taught us. Those were massive, and they worked together like a team. Patronus’s don’t do that. What the hell are you and Malfoy-“

“I don’t know, okay! I don’t know what that was, I don’t know why they worked like that, and I’m not fucking around with Draco!” Juniper cried, tears already slipping from her eyes. Just then, Harry emerged from the staircase to the boys dorms, and took in the scene before him. He frowned.

“Juniper…” he began, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand, and in a flurry of tears, she pushed into the girls bathroom.


End file.
